Tips to Improve Your Driving Skills and Safety Behind the Wheel
Personal improvement is a worthy goal, especially when it comes to driving. Even if you have been a licensed driver for years and logged countless hours behind the wheel, you could still benefit from a skill check. Whether you are guilty of bad driving habits or just want to feel safer on the road, consider the following tips to be a better driver.
Car Maintenance Basics: Oil changes and tire rotations
Reset your position
One of the first things you learned in driver’s ed was how important it was to make sure your seat and mirrors were in the right position every time you sat in the driver’s seat. Have you adjusted your seat or mirrors lately? Are they really in the most advantageous position for your driving safety? If so, great, but if not, it only takes a few moments to check.
Focus on your fitness
Driving can be mentally and physically exhausting. If you’re feeling more depleted after driving, perhaps it’s time to focus on your fitness outside of your driving hours.
“Be sure to keep up, or boost your fitness routine. A good guideline is to get 30 minutes of light cardio or resistance strength exercise per day,” advises AARP writer Jenna Gyimesi.
Make driving your priority
Just because you are confident behind the wheel due to your years of experience, doesn’t mean you can focus on something else while driving. Multi-tasking behind the wheel is dangerous. Just like when you were first learning to drive, always keep your eyes on the road and avoid distractions.
Go back to school
Learning should be a lifelong endeavor. There are driving courses available that can help you sharpen your skills.
Test your skills
Having someone or something monitor your driving behaviors may be just the push you need to become a better driver. Plus, it might save you some money.
“In the past few years, insurance companies have offered potential rate discounts to drivers who outfit their cars with a monitoring device. Another helpful aspect of these programs is that you can receive feedback on your driving,” according to Gyimesi.
Safety Check: Is it time for new tires?
By implementing these tips, you can help increase your skills and safety behind the wheel.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.